Supreme Court Defers Hearing of CBI's Plea against Lalu Prasad Yadav's Bail in Fodder Scam Cases until January 2024

The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned until January next year an appeal by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the bail granted to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in a fodder scam case.A bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh was hearing a batch of pleas against the orders granting bail to the former legislator. On the last occasion, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Yadav, argued that the septuagenarian could not be asked to 'go back to jail' on account of his advanced age and the time already served. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, however, protested, saying, "He is playing badminton!"The law officer further argued that the orders granting bail was bad inasmuch as it had considered the sentences in various cases in which Yadav was convicted to run concurrently and not consecutively. "These orders are bad in toto. There's a short question of law: bail has been granted on an erroneous assumption considering that sentences are concurrent and not consecutive.""There's a neat question of law," ASG Raju repeated during today's hearing, "If in a trial, a sentence is awarded..."We will hear this on a non-miscellaneous day, Justice Bopanna interjected.Before the hearing was deferred however, Sibal reiterated his objections to the CBI's appeals, pointing to a delay of 14 or 15 months in filing them. The senior counsel also stressed that the former chief minister has already been released. He added -"Because [the CBI] came up in Lalu's case and realised that they were appealing only in his, they said we'll file an appeal in every other case. So that discrimination is...And after 14 or so months. They want to keep him inside so that in 2024 he can't be out...Please keep the question of law open."Justice Sundresh seemed to agree with Sibal's suggestion to keep the question of law open, pointing out the delay of four years in one of the cases. Responding to ASG Raju's submission that there was a short point of law, the judge said, "At this point of time, why should we go into that? Passed in 2019, now we are in 2023."In parting, before the bench adjourned the hearing until January 2024, Justice Sundresh also told the law officer, "Even if we answer in your favour, it will be very difficult to put him back."BackgroundThe fodder scam matter consists of 55 cases relating to withdrawals amounting to around ₹950 crore from the state treasury. The withdrawals occurred between between 1992 and 1995, when Yadav served as the chief minister of Bihar and was also in charge of the departments of animal husbandry and finance. During this time, officials of the state animal husbandry department have been accused of withdrawing money against fake bills of fodder, medicine and so on. Yadav has been accused in six cases related to the scam and has been held guilty in five. In April 2021, the Jharkhand High Court granted bail to the former chief minister in a case relating to a fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 3.13 crores from Dumka treasury on the ground that he has served half of his prison term. He was convicted in the fodder scam cases pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of money from Deoghar, Dumka and Chaibasa treasuries in Jharkhand. In 2019, he was granted bail in the Deoghar treasury matter. He was also granted bail in the Chaibasa Treasury matter in October 2020 by the Jharkhand High Court on the ground that he had undergone half of the sentence imposed on him.The RJD chief has also been convicted and sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of Rs. 60 lakhs by a special court in Ranchi, for a fifth fodder scam case pertaining to a fraudulent withdrawal of Rs. 139.35 crores from Doranda Treasury in February this year. In April, the Jharkhand High Court granted him bail in respect to the fifth case.Case TitleState of Jharkhand v. Lalu Prasad @ Lalu Prasad Yadav | Special Leave Petition (Criminal) 1550 of 2020

Supreme Court Defers Hearing of CBI's Plea against Lalu Prasad Yadav's Bail in Fodder Scam Cases until January 2024

Awstika Das

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